By J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Marko Djurdjevic (pencils), Dany Miki and Mark Morales (inks) Paul Monts (colors)
The Story: Thor gets wind of Sif’s whereabouts and enlists the help of Doctor Strange to fix Mjöllnir. However, his mighty hammer’s repair comes with a mighty price and one that may eventually cost him dearly. On the other side of the world, the Asgardians, led by king Balder and manipulated by Loki, continue to settle into Latveria, the kingdom of Doctor Doom. Kelda brings William the mortal into the new Asgard where he quickly becomes an unexpected confidant of Balder and almost nearly as fast a target for restless warriors.
What’s Good: The highest praise I can heap on this book is that it is a full read. JMS tells a lot of story in these pages and at $3.99, you almost get your money’s worth. Almost. Many different plot lines develop and end, and there are many interesting moments. It’s in issues like this where you see why JMS was such a good TV writer as Thor reads like a soap opera. Not that I ever watched one of those…
Over and over JMS has set up Thor’s return to be an uneasy, delicate, and tenuous affair. Thor is dealt another dramatic challenge as Mjöllnir’s rehabilitation is a veritable Pandora’s box. After being exiled from Asgard, killing his Grandfather, and busting his hammer, you’d think that finally finding Sif would be a pure moment of happiness for Thor. But, it’s not to be, and Thor’s troubles continue.
The scenes with Strange were the highlight of this issue. Its good to see both of these heroes interacting, and the way Strange fixed Mjöllnir by calling primordial energies and such was very well done. Also, William’s role in this series suddenly became more interesting and important. A nice development that I’m sure will be used to tell some compelling story.
What’s Not So Good: I’m not sure if it was the pencils, inks or colors, but something about the art in this issue just didn’t seem up to par with previous installments. For sure, the color scheme seemed flat and burnt, rather than the sharp and bright hues of the first couple arcs. The character designs while decent, seemed rushed, with faces left undefined.
This issue seemed more like a Simonson issue than a Straczynski one. Just something about Thor lying on a bedroom floor seems silly; and that bubbly, almost campy feel of tons of characters and big dialogues in varied settings, pulsed throughout this issue. I became a fan of this series for JMS’s character work on Thor and his near unmatched ability to capture memorable moments of a story, not this type of crowded, perhaps rushed even, story telling. I’m not saying this is a bad, it just lacks the novelty and specialness of the first 12 issues of this series.
Conclusion: This may be the weakest point or issue in this series so far, but at the rung of the comic book ladder where Thor resides, that is still not a bad a place to be. There is quite a lot to like here, but I wish it focused more on Thor and less on the Asgardians, as I rather learn about their plight through Thor’s.
Grade: B-
-Rob G
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews | Tagged: Comic Book Reviews, comic books, Dany Miki, J. Michael Straczynski, Loki, Mark Morales, Marko Djurdjevic, Marvel Comics, Marvel Reviews, Paul Monts, Thor, Thor # 602 - Review, Thor #602, Weekly Comic Book Review | 2 Comments »
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